Why "Iron Fortress of the Kabaneri" is NOT a Total Ripoff of "Attack on Titan"

SPOILER ALERTS FOR BOTH SERIES!!!

As one of the breakout hits of the Spring 2016 season, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri (or Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress)has been gaining fans across the Internet's otaku scene. But one of the series' biggest complaints is its many similarities to 2014's anime smash hit Attack on Titan. While it's true that both shows are produced by the same animation studio and both share the same series director, anyone can see that these are two seperate, distinct series that have nothing to do with each other.

Here's why:

1.

The sensitive main character who is driven to a near-fanatical hatred of his enemies after he watched helplessly as they killed a beloved family member... HAS GLASSES AND A WHITE STREAK OF HAIR.

2.

The main hero is torn between his dual nature when he undergoes a treatment that leaves him neither fully human or fully monster with a vague undercurrent of bondage themes... ALL THE TIME, NOT JUST WHEN HE SHIFTS FORMS.

3.

The other hero is a short haired young woman with impossibly strong fighting skills and has a callous demeanor that betrays a deep pain and childhood trauma...WHO USES GUNS, NOT SWORDS.

4.

The terrifying unstoppable zombie-like enemies whose twisted nearly-human forms and remorseless hunger for flesh speak to a primal fear within us all... HAVE THEIR WEAK SPOT IN THEIR HEART, NOT THEIR NECKS.

5.

The setting is a post-apocalyptic anachronistic world where humanity has adapted to life cowering behind heavily fortified walls... THAT'S BUILT AROUND SEPERATE TRAIN STATIONS, NOT A SINGLE STRATIFIED CITY.

6.

The heroes fight against the status quo as they begin to unravel the secret origins of the monsters that plague humanity... EXCEPT THE LEADER OF THE CONSPIRACY IS WAY, WAY HOTTER.

7.

One of the recurring themes of the show is how the selfishness and cowardice inherent in human nature can prevent us from progressing as a society... BUT ON A TRAIN.

8.

While the Titans are towering giants that are typically 15 meters tall, the Kabane are normal human sized... EXCEPT WHEN SOMETIMES THEY TURN INTO A MONSTER THAT STANDS AT APPROXIMATELY 15 METERS TALL.

All kidding aside, I've actually been super stoked on this show and if you can get over the intense feelings of deja vu, it's totally worth watching. This is especially true if you're a fan of kickass animation, high-velocity action, and that very specific kind of melodrama you can only find in mainstream anime. It's available for streaming right now on Amazon Prime.

UP NEXT: Speaking of Anime, here's what happens when DBZ characters get wasted.